Machine transcription
and his lashkar. But the Dari-Khels were
obstinate and refused passage. They were
under the influence of a dervish, Levannai
by name, who was in the Bacha's pay, and
such was his hold over the tribes that none
dared oppose him.
During this time the Marshal was busy
day and night in publishing pamphlets
explaining his objects and asking the tribes
to co-operate and join hands against their
common enemy, and thus save their country
from utter annihilation.
The negotiation with the Dari-Khels
continued for full three days. The only
argument they offered for their opposition to
the Marshal was that he was a partisan of
the ex-King and was working on his behalf.
When it was found that these people would
not listen to reason and could not be prevailed
upon to accept even the assurances of a
Jirgah, the Marshal was obliged to use force,
much against his will. After a few hours of
hot and contested fighting, the Dari Khels
were beaten and the Marshal was able to
proceed towards Gardez. Nothing of any
importance occurred for the next few days.
The lashkar found no difficulty in reaching
114
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.
